Cool Links

Monday, May 25, 2015

Some BIG news for members of the Stop-Watch Gang, both past and present!

As announced over the weekend, the 2015 nominations for the Aurora Awards--Canada's top SF prize--are now live, and include a who's-who of Canadian spec fic, especially in the Best Novel and Best YA Novel categories.

But most excitingly for The Stop-Watch Gang is that both Suzanne Church and Tony Pi are once again nominees. While each have been nominated before (Suzanne has been nominated several times, and won Best Short Form in 2012) this time--mostly to show off--they are each nominated in MULTIPLE categories!

Tony's story “No Sweeter Art” is nominated in the Best Short-Form category (and is available to read or listen to online at Beneath Ceaseless Skies), and his poem “A Hex, With Bees” is nominated in the Best Poem/Song category.

These stories were all workshopped with The Stop-Watch Gang, and we're all thrilled that they've been nominated. It's going to make for some VERY difficult decisions come voting time.

In addition (as the headline suggests) the other two nominees in the Best Short-Form category--“Crimson Sky” by Eric Choi, and “Mecha-Jesus” by Derwin Mak--were written by founding members of The Stop-Watch Gang. Meaning that between current and former members of The Stop-Watch Gang, its a clean sweep of the nominations. And all without the aid of a voting slate! Just some great, great stories earning the recognition they deserve from people who read and enjoyed them.

The full list of nominees follow, and information on voting can be found here. Voting opens one week from today--Monday, June 1st.

Good luck to all the nominees!

- S.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Voting for this year’s awards will begin on June 1st. CSFFA (Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Association) members have until Midnight, EDT on October 17th to cast their ballots. Membership is open to all Canadians and Landed Immigrants.

The awards will be given out at Canvention 35, hosted by SFContario 6 in Toronto, Ontario on the weekend of November 20 – 22nd. Full details about CSFFA, the awards and voting can be found at www.prixaurorawards.ca.

Lockstep by Karl Schroeder, Tor BooksMabel the Lovelorn Dwarf by Sherry Peters, DwarvenamazonOut of This World by Charles de Lint, Razorbill CanadaRain by Amanda Sun, Harlequin TEENSea of Shadows by Kelley Armstrong, Doubleday CanadaTwist of the Blade by Edward Willett, Coteau BooksThe Voices in Between by Charlene Challenger, Tightrope Books

“A Hex, With Bees” by Tony Pi, Wrestling With Gods: Tesseracts Eighteen, EDGE
“Aversions” by Helen Marshall, Goblin Fruit, October
“The Machine” by David Clink, Wrestling With Gods: Tesseracts Eighteen, EDGE
“The New Ways” by Amal El-Mohtar, Uncanny Magazine, November
“The Perfect Library” by David Clink, If the World were to Stop Spinning (Chapbook)

Elements: A Collection of Speculative Fiction by Suzanne Church, EDGEGifts for the One Who Comes After by Helen Marshall, CZPLackington’s speculative prose edited by Ranylt Richildis|
Strange Bedfellows edited by Hayden Trenholm, Bundoran Press

Best Artist

James Beveridge, cover for Tantamount and Out Dweller
Erik Mohr, cover for The Door in the Mountain and ChiZine PublicationsDerek Newman-Stille,cover for Elephants and Omnibuses
Dan O’Driscoll, covers for Bundoran Press and On Spec magazineLynne Taylor Fahnestalk & Steve Fahnestalk, “Walking on the Moon”, cover for On Spec, No. 95 (Vol. 25 No. 4),